Cases of myopia double

Study shows myopia prevalence in children in the UK has more than doubled in the last 50 years

New research, jointly funded by the College of Optometrists and Ulster University, has shown that myopia (or short-sightedness) is more than twice as prevalent among children in the UK now than in the 1960s. Myopia means that when they focus on a distant object it looks blurry.

A study conducted by The Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) has found that nearly one in five teenagers in the UK are now myopic, or short-sighted, and that children with one parent with myopia are at least three times more likely to be myopic than those without a myopic parent. This increases to over seven times more likely when both parents are myopes. It has also shown that myopia is most likely to occur between the ages of six and 13 years.

The latest findings, used data gathered from more than 1,000 children over six years.

The study’s key findings include:

• Nearly one in five teenagers in the UK are myopic.
• Myopia is more than twice as prevalent among UK children now than in the 1960’s (16.4% vs 7.2%).
• Prevalence of myopia in white children in the UK is similar to that of white children in other countries.
• Prevalence of myopia in white children in the UK is much lower than in Asian countries where the majority of school leavers are myopic. For example, in South Korea, 96.5% of 19 year old males are myopic.
• Myopia is most likely to occur between six and 13 years of age.
• Children with one myopic parent are almost three times more likely to be myopic by age 13 than a child without a myopic parent. This increases to over seven times more likely when both parents are myopes.

Commenting, Lesley Cree said, “The results give us a clear picture of how children’s eyes are developing, and ultimately  enable us to  give advice to parents to help them protect their children’s precious eyesight, such as recommended ages for eyesight testing or specific risk factors that should indicate a sight test is needed.”

She continued “From this research we are seeing a clear increase in the prevalence of children with myopia. We would encourage parents to ensure that their children’s eyes are tested by an optometrist, particularly children of parents with myopia, as we see in this research; they are likely to inherit the condition. An eye examination is recommended for all children before they start school.”

The causes of myopia are still unclear, but there are many, as yet, unsupported theories that associate “close working” and a lack of outdoor play with a higher prevalence of the condition.